Buckle.



G. R. NETTLETON.

BUCKLE.

APPLlCATION FILED FEB- I916.

Patented Mar. .27, 1917.

UNTT %ATE% PATENT @FFTCJFL GEGRGE R. NETTLETON, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE VJ & E T FITCH 00., 0F HAVEN, CUNNECTIOU'T, A CORPORATION.

BUCKLE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. NETTLETON, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Buckles; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the characters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this application, and represent, in

Figure l a plan view of a buckle con structed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 a side view of the same.

Fig. 3 a sectional view on the line a?) of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4: a sectional View on the line c-d of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 a longitudinal sectional view illustrating one modified form of my buckle.

Fig. 6 a plan view of another modified form of my invention.

Fig. 7a longitudinal sectional view of the same.

Fig. 8 a plan view illustrating my'invention applied to a slide buckle.

This invention relates to an improvement in buckles, and while particularly adapted for use in belts, is equally applicable for various purposes. The object of this invention is to provide means for coupling the buckle proper with a strap, and at the same time securing the strap to the coupling device; and the invention consists in the construction hereinafter described and particularly recited in the claims.

In carrying out my invention, as shown, I employ a buckle frame 2 of any approved design including a rear bar 8 on which the pin-like tongue 4 is mounted. To connect the buckle frame 2 with the strap 5, and to provide means for attaching the strap, I employ a coupling device consisting of a plate 6 having upturned side walls 7 and 8, and hooks 9 and 10 corresponding substantially to the width of the buckle between its sides adaptedto engage with the rear bar 3 of the buckle frame. Pivoted in the sides 7 and 8 of the coupling-piece is a lever 11 formed at its rear end with downwardly turned gripping teeth 12 and at its forward end with hooks 13 and 14 which snap over hooks 9 and 10 on the plate. The space be- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. February 7,1916.

Patented Mar. 27, 1917. Serial No. 76,727.

tween the hooks and the ends of the side walls 7 and 8 forming a clearance opening for the rear bar 3 of the buckle frame, and the space between the hooks forming a clearance for the end of the tongue 4;. To detach the buckle frame from the coupling piece or to attach the straps the hooks 13 and 1%.- will be separated from the hooks 9 and 10 which may be readily done with the fingers, allowing the lever 11 to open so as to permit the end of a strap 5 to be inserted between the plate and the lever. If the buckle frame is not already in place, it will be engaged by the hooks 9 and 10, and then the lever is pressed downward until the hooks 13 and 14: snap over the hooks 9 and 10 so as to be interlocked therewith, and this turns the gripping edge 19. downward into engagement with the strap thus firmly securing the strap with the buckle.

It is obvious, and as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, that instead of having the hooks 13 and 14 pass over the hooks 9 and 10, this position might be reversed, as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings; or if desired, the hooks on one part of the attaching device might be provided with slight projections 15 and 16 adapted to engage with recesses 17 formed in the hooks on the other part of the attaching device, so that the hooked ends will be more firmly interlocked. Otherwise, the construction and operation of the buckle is the same as the first described. It is also obvious that my invention is applicable to various styles of buckles having an attaching bar. Thus, as shown in Fig. 8, the buckle is of the slide type in which an attaching bar 18 is engaged by the forward end of the coupling device above described, in which case the hook ends are not necessarily notched. In either construction the strap may be readily detached from the coupling piece, if desired, for the substitution of another strap or for the purpose of shortening the strap.

I claim 1. An independently formed couplingpiece for connecting the fixed end of a strap to a buckle-frame having an attaching bar, said coupling-piece comprising a fiat plate formed with side walls the ends of which nix are adapted to bear against the said attach- I sponding substantially in width to the width of the buckle-frame between its sides and adapted to be engaged with the said attaching bar which is held between the ends of the side walls and the hook portion, and a lever pivotally mounted between the side Walls of the plate and formed at its forward end with a hook adapted to engage With the hook portion of the plate and adapted at its rear end to co -act with the plate to hold the end of a strap between them.

2. An independently formed couplingpiece for connecting the fixed end of a strap to the frame of a buckle having an attaching bar and a tongue pivo-tally connected with said attaching bar, said coupling-piece (Jopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Tatents,

comprising a flat plate'forined with side walls adapted to bear upon the rear of the said attaching bar and at its forward end a formed at its forward end with a hook o notched at the center to clear the said buckle tongue and adapted to engage with the hook portion of the plate and adapted at its rear end to co-act'with the plate to hold the end of a strap between them.

GEORGE R. NETTLETON.

Washington, D. G. 

